Hello,

I bought a Bachmann Spectrum Large Scale 2-4-4 Forney Locomotive - DCC Ready
Painted, Unlettered (Outside Frame)
Product #80998 on Ebay without a box or manual.

Is there anyway to get a copy of the manual that came with the engine originally?

I got a Bachmann 1:20.3 Heisler on eBay. It is in like new condition.

It is a Pardee & Curtin Lbr. Co. edition.  It comes without an air pump and without the air tank.    The strange thing is, is that that most of the piping for the air brakes is there.  If the engine only had steam brakes the piping should not be there I think.

So I would like to add the original heisler air pump and air tank.  If anyone has them to sell please let me know.   Thanks for reading this.

I will be working on a K-27, Climax and Heisler.  I was lucky to get these engines on Ebay.  All were new or like new.

I am using Airwire and Phoenix sound combinations. I like that because I am using an Airwire throttle and Phoenix Sound programing software.

When I first started with G scale I wanted battery R/C but was clueless as how to go about it. I am finding that much of the information on line in "how to's" is outdated.

So I read the downloadable manuals that are available on product websites. I studied the Bachmann wiring diagrams that you can get at their large scale parts site.

So now I see what space I have to play with, find the battery, Airewire-Phoenix Sound combination to use and learn what wires go where. It's not to complicated. The three truck shay was the hardest because I had to hard wire everything after taking the original board out of the engine. Other engines like the C-19 and K-27 have plug and play boards. 

The moral is if you want to add battery R/C but think it is too hard, study the available manuals on the product web sites and avoid "how to's" from long ago.

It is a learning curve but once you have success it makes you want to do it again.  Warning, it isn't cheap.  Airwire plus Phoenix Sound and batteries and charging cables comes to around $400. And you still need a throttle.  Programing software for Phoenix Sound is over $100 including the cable.

I am aware of other combinations of R/C and sound but I like my way and am not as much of a perfectionist as some are.

I would think that I could look on line and find a detailed how-to add battery operation to Bachmann's G scale 4-6-0.  But Noooooooooooooooooooooo.

I even asked a rc parts supplier what I would need to do this and he said he could sell me what I needed but with no instructions on how to put then together.

I added battery operation to my Bachmann C-19 but that was plug and play.

So can anyone supply me with a source for instructions on how to add battery control the Bachmann G scale 4-6-0 and what and where to get the parts needed?

I have several 4-6-0s and would like to be able to transfer the working between them.  I think the batteries and electronics would be in the tender and plug into the engine.  All engines would be wired the same and plug into what ever tender I transferred the works to.

Any help would be appreciated.

I have the smooth domes on my c-19 and would like to replace them with fluted ones.  If anyone has them for sale or trade please let e know.  Thank You.

I was just told by Bachmann that the shell is no longer available which would have the most of the parts I need.

If anyone has a shell I'd like to buy it.

What I need is the smoke box front with the door and hinges and number board, the rectangular cylinder covers and the piping to them and the cover for the cab vent.

I bought a used porter on ebay thinking I could get a new shell which was listed but I ordered and got an email from Ruth saying they are no longer available.



Any help would be appreciated.

I have a Eureka & Palisade 4-4-0 and always wanted a strap stye cowcatcher on it.  

I spent a day with the real engine and talked to the owner.

I told him I read that Bachmann gave him a 1:20.3 version of his engine.  He said yes they did but that they have the wrong cowcatcher on it.

 

The only part available on the Bachmann site for the 2017 mogul are the strap style cowchatcher.  

One in black and the other in brown.


So I got a brown one for my engine.

I found a diagram of a strap pilot on line.  It looks like a builder's drawing.  The diagram has two support bars on the sides and two that cross in the center.  

Bachmann's does not have the two side bars but does have the crossed ones.

Bachmann's is a very good copy.



Then how to mount it on my 4-4-0?  



First remove the original cowcatcher.

There are 4 mounting tabs on the strap style cowcatcher.

The rectangular piece above the coupler bar goes against the outside front center of the pilot deck. You need to trim the horizontal tab off leaving a flat vertical piece to mount to the pilot deck.   It should be as thick as the thickness of the front of the pilot deck.

I drilled holes on either side of the coupler bar into the pilot and the mounting piece. I super glued Ozark Miniatures  nut-bolt-washer in the drilled holes. It looks just

like the prototype. This shows you where to mount the underside tabs. There are no mounting lugs on the 4-4-0 pilot, you need to fill the space between the bottom of the pilot and the mounting tabs.

I supper glued a piece of evergreen styrene up against the bottom of the pilot and the inside of the front of the pilot where the tabs showed they should be mounted.

It is as thick as the space between the pilot and the tab, about 3/16 inch.

I drilled small holes in the plastic stock to mount the crossed bars to.  Bachmann gives you 4 small screws for this.

The two outside tabs need a flat piece of about .44 thick plastic glued to where the tabs should be mounted.   I screwed the tabs to the plastic.  This lines up the bottom of the cowcatcher parallel to the ground.  


My strap style cowcatcher is mounted as firm as the original wood one is.  Now I match the Eureka & Palisades 4-4-0.


Also ask questions if this is confusing.
Bob

I have three Spectrum 1:20.3 box cars and one spectrum long caboose.  I don't have any track laid other than that I put together on the floor so I rarely run any G scale trains.  I plan to join a local club and have several Spectrum 1:20.3 4-4-0's and 2-6-0's.  So I am getting my equipment ready in case I have the chance to run trains.

I had one of the Spectrum 1:20.3 box cars sitting on the shelf with the caboose and one of three 4-4-0's.   Last year I took it down from the shelf and both trucks fell to pieces.  They are made of some metal that disintegrates.  I bought two replacement trucks from Bachmann parts web site last year and put the box car back on the shelf.

Tonight I took the car down from the shelf.  This time one of the bolsters broke into pieces. This car has never been in a train and never has moved an inch yet it falls apart sitting still!.

I have a replacement bolster but to take off the broken one it looks like I need to take the truss rods and break line off since they go through openings in the bolster.  Then I need to reverse the process.  I can see no way of taking off the rods and break line.

Has anyone done this and can tell me how to do it?

I love the looks of these cars but I am afraid they are useless. I broke off the stirrup steps a while ago.  I was replacing them when the bolster fell apart.

Also two of the 1:20.3 boxcars I bought on Ebay without trucks or couplers for a good price.  I got the trucks from Bachmann a while ago and was replacing broken stirrup steps but I don't know what couplers to put on the cars.  The coupler box looks like a Kadee box so I imagine I can use Kadee couplers.

Has anyone had any success in repairing these cars or should I just chalk it up to buying defective peoducts?

Thanks in advance.

I sent my Eureka and Palisades 4-4-0 that had the wiring disconnected and a broken cross head guide to Bachmann. I got a call today from Bachmann and was told they could not fix the cross head guide and that it was further damaged in shipping. So they offered me a brand new engine if I paid $75 mostly for shipping.
I agreed but sure will miss the Eureka model since I spent an afternoon with the real one.

I have some Piko track and looking on ebay, it seems like all brass track from the various companies looks the same as my Piko track. Can you mix Piko and LBG and other makers track?

Thanks for the information

for the Centennial American 4-4-0?

I need to rewire my engine.

Thanks

Hi folks,
I bought a Centennial 4-4-0 on eBay. It was listed as new but it doesn't run at all.
I noticed that the wires to the polarity switch in smoke box front are not connected.
I think that this is the reason it does not run. There are two red wires and a black and a blue wire. It looks like each of the red wires is matched up with either the black or blue wire. The switch has six possible soldering pins.
Does anyone know were to attach these wires to the polarity switch?
Thanks.

Hello,

I have a Bachmann On30 4-6-0 with dcc but without sound.  I would like to add sound.  Is there a drop in sound decoder with speaker I can get for this loco?

Thanks